Canadians on a tear heading into New Year

Skiers finish season close to the podium, as Whistler's Jeff Hume announces his retirement

The Canadian Alpine Ski Team is on a tear lately, winning seven World Cup medals in the weeks leading up to the New Year. Overall team performance improved as well, with athletes earning points at almost every event.

The sixth and seventh medals, a bronze in slalom and silver in giant slalom, were won by Canmores Thomas Grandi just days before Christmas.

The team trained through the holiday and was back on the slopes for Dec. 28. The mens team headed to Bormio, Italy for a downhill on a long and challenging course.

The win went to Daron Rahlves of the U.S. by close to 0.7 seconds, followed by Fritz Strobl of Austria. Tobias Gruenenfelder of Switzerland took third.

Despite strong training runs, the Canadians didnt manage to crack the top-10, but did put three athletes in the top-20.

Francois Bourque, 21, was the top Canadian in training and finished his day in 14
th
place, while Erik Guay was 16
th
. Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, an alumnus of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, was 18
th
.

While the men were earning points in Italy, the womens technical team had a frustrating weekend at Lienz, Austria.

In the giant slalom, Anja Paerson of Sweden took gold, followed by Nicole Hosp of Austria and Tina Maze of Slovenia.

The top Canadian was Genevieve Simard of Val-Morin, Quebec in 12
th
place.

"Im skiing really well right now. Im making mistakes because Im pushing the line and taking risks. Its a good thing, but now Id like to put two runs together," said Simard.

"It (takes) a bit of confidence to really push the line and you have to search for the feeling that youre a little out of control, and I definitely felt that here so Im closer to it."

Brigitte Acton of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, earned a few points in 28
th
place, but was otherwise frustrated by her race.

"Im just not skiing like Im training," she said. "My training is good. My focus is there and I totally believe in myself, thats how Ill get there."

Nanaimos Allison Forsyth also qualified for a second run, but was marked down as a DNF after she missed a gate in the top section. Britt Janyk did not qualify for a second run.

In the slalom the following day Janyk was the top Canadian, but only managed to finish 42
nd
. She originally looked like she would qualify for a second run but was bumped back by a couple of skiers.